CHRIS OYAKHILOME AND BUSSINESS

ss: starts airline, fast food and ned TV stations

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome is not a new swimmer in the murky waters of controversy. Each time he is dragged into the pool or he willfully dives into it, he keeps his kneel on a steady course, at least to the extent that none of the image crises he has suffered in recent times have torpedoed the for­tunes of his church, the Christ Embassy. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome is not a new swimmer in the murky waters of controversy. Each time he is dragged into the pool or he willfully dives into it, he keeps his kneel on a steady course, at least to the extent that none of the image crises he has suffered in recent times have torpedoed the for­tunes of his church, the Christ Embassy. Oyakhilome was accused of under the table dealings with the man in The Synagogue Church of All Nations, Pastor Temitope Joshua. It wasn't that he had done anything outside the confines of freedom of association, which the Nigerian constitution guarantees him, but as a pastor of the Pentecostal bent, a relationship with Joshua who is neither of the orthodox nor protestant or Pentecostal fold, was seen by some as scandalous. Many Christians are still suspicious of Joshua and at best regard him as a quasi-Christian sect. Before tales of the Joshua/Oyakhilome relationship were thoroughly consumed, Oyakhilome was unfortunately embroiled in another mess as a leading donor in his church was fingered in a jumbo fraud at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Lagos where he worked. Many men of God, at that time, condemned Oyakhilome's refusal to return the stolen money allegedly donated to his church. But he went incommunicado. He even refused to honour police invitation. Many swear that he must have refunded some of the money. At the moment, another simmering crisis is imminent and if it is not handled with care, it could cast layers of mud on the Christ Embassy. Pastor Oyakhilome who joined the ranks of many churches that have set up enclaves along the Lagos­Ibadan Expressway has been accused of encroaching on large parcels of land belonging to the most famous church on that axis, the Pastor Enoch Adeboye-led Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). "Oyakhilome unfortunately is turning deaf ears to the charges of land encroachment and I'm afraid, he may force the hands of the authorities of RCCG observed a pastor of the church. Original1y located at KM 47, the RCCC has since expanded, buying up new frontiers as it gained grounds so much in all directions that its northward border is placed on the edge of the old Lagos-Ikorodu Road . As it stands today, the RCCG property is believed to be in excess of thousands of hectares. Encouraged by the RCCG generousity, land owners in that vicinity are said to be falling over themselves in their bid to sell land to RCCG. This great expansion, RCCG faithfuls say, falls in line with the vision of Adeboye who claims to be pursuing a divine agenda to develop a holy city for the Lord. Slowly but steadily, the RCCG has acquired a reputation as the fastest growing church in the world. It is currently developing an auditorium that would take the world leadership position from the Winners Chapel in Canaanland, Ota, which sits 5O,OO0 persons, The upcoming RCCG auditorium is being built on the site of the church's Holy Ghost Festival ground which is an open air arrangement that presently accommodates over two million people. The latest news however is the mega-business frontiers that Oyakhilome is pushing by allegedly buying up Minaj Tv, registering an airline and setting up Dicksons, which has been conceived to challenge the dominance of UAC Foods' Mr. Biggs fast food chain across the country. It should be recalled that for many months this year, Oyakhilome's gospel telecasts have been mostly off the air. This may not be unconnected with the NBC ban on his fabulous Healing School miracles, the veracity of which many non-members of his church contested. But what cannot be taken away from Oyakhilome is his mastery of the airwaves. For many years, his telecasts have been of the utmost technical quality. Till date too, his crusades have been most outstanding. His gospel ministry began the pre­booking of seats, which many call 'paying in advance' for his total sell out 'Total Experience crusades'. When Oyakhilome staged his much publicized 'Good Friday Miracle Night' at his new 'Miracle Grounds' during Easter 2006, the crowd size was amazing. Many people who wanted to attend the event and were said to be coming from outside Lagos and Ogun States were reported to have been forced to sleep in cars and buses on the freeway because the queues on the roads in all directions were impenetrable. An insider proudly announced to his friends last Sunday to a small group of friends, "I really do admire my pastor's courage and enterprise. He has told us in church several times that it isn't enough for Christians to focus only on attaining spiritual power. He says we must also strive to attain economic and political power. "And lately, he is spearheading major business investments for Christ Embassy. We have bought MBI, registered a new airline called Skypower and we are about to start the fastest food chain this country has ever witnessed. It is called Dickson's." The young man spoke with passion -straight from the heart. But he was flouting Oyakhilome's orders by talking. A few days later, another Christ Embassy insider corroborated the story – well, most of it on telephone. She said, "I really don't know about the TV and airline acquisitions, but that of Dickson's is quite true. Pastor (Chris Oyakhilome) has warned all of us including ail pastors not to discuss this issue with anybody." By registering an airline, Oyakhilome has gone several steps farther than his forbears in the gospel business, both home and abroad, who bought private jets. Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel and late Bishop T Gabriel Adeyemi of Bethel Wonderland Church were the only Nigerian gospel ministers famed to own jets. Now Oyakhilome may just have a jet or two but a fleet of new airplanes. “We are already expecting our fleet of aero planes said the exuberant insider. Culled from ThisDay.